FoodIsPower.org -- The Food Empowerment Project

F.E.P. Alert - November 22nd, 2011

1. VegNews Magazine and Benefit Updates

Food Empowerment Project was honored in VegNews' recent "Best of 2011" edition. We are one of the organizations highlighted in their "10 Nonprofits You Need to Know."

With our unique take on food justice issues incorporating animal and human rights, we are so thankful that many people are understanding the importance of our work. We truly appreciate that the staff at VegNews has recognized us for what we do.

We also wanted to thank everyone who supported the benefits organized in October. A HUGE thank you to our friends at Food Fight! for the show, benefit day and donation jar in the store that raised more than $500 for our work, and to Veggie Grill in Santa Monica, where more than $150 was raised.

Donations are critical for us to continue our work!

2. Update on our Access to Healthy Foods: Phase III

In 2009, more than a dozen volunteers with Food Empowerment Project surveyed more than 200 locations in Santa Clara County to assess the availability of healthy foods (fresh fruits and veggies, vegan options, etc.), which culminated in our report Shining a Light on the Valley of Heart's Delight: Taking a Look at Access to Healthy Foods in Santa Clara County's Communities of Color and Low-Income Communities.

To read more, visit our Santa Clara Food availabiltity study page.

Thanks to the Food Summit at Stanford University, we are now ready to move on to the third phase of our campaign: reaching out to the communities to find out what it is that they need and want in order to improve their access to healthy foods. Too many times the voices of the community members are not heard because they are never asked.

Please read more about our next effort in our third phase document.

3. Website Updates: Volunteer Ideas + More

- Interested in helping out F.E.P.? Check out our volunteer ideas!

- Want to do some reading over the holiday break? Catch up on our blogs:
    Learn about the Dr. Doolittle of Australia
    Read our recent cookbook post - "From Hippies to Hipsters: Vegan Cookbooks"
    And our most recent blog, "Hashbrown on a Stick," on the inequity in school lunch programs:

- Love broccoli soup but not sure how to make it? Try our new easy recipe for cream of broccoli soup !

- Share those turkeys this Thanksgiving - no, not for eating - but for learning about them!

A huge thank you goes out to all of our supporters AND our volunteers. F.E.P. is an all-volunteer group, so you are the key to helping us have the most impact!